Federal authorities said one of the primary motives for the scheme was to avoid paying more than $116,000 in child support to his ex-wife.

Narcotics trafficking and money laundering were the main business for Hydra, which researchers say was the largest dark-web market.

Igor Dekhtyarchuk allegedly ran the cybercrime forum Marketplace A, which specialized in stolen credit card data and website logins.

Tal Prihar helped to hide more than $8 million in cryptocurrency that dark web market operators paid DeepDotWeb for linking internet users to their wares, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Slava Dmitriev used the handle “GoldenAce” to buy and sell stolen identities on AlphaBay, and also assisted the Dark Overlord in extortion operations.

The illicit carding market stands at $1.4 billion, researchers say, compared to $1.9 billion last year.

As law enforcement agencies get better at tracing cryptocurrency, such laundering services have grown in importance.

The information, for sale for $350,000, might not be legitimate.

Hydra has remained resilient where others have fallen to law enforcement operations.

Holes in popular software can yield major profits for criminals.